Reference

Restaurant operations glossary.

The words on the daily report, defined.

Written for restaurants in India, so the statutory terms are the Indian ones.

What is in here.

82 terms, defined in plain language.¹

6 groups, from cost ratios to statutory registers.²

61 of them link to a free tool or a longer piece.³

23 are acronyms, expanded on first use.⁴

  1. ¹ Baseline: the entries listed on this page, counted at build time.
  2. ² Baseline: the group headings on this page.
  3. ³ Baseline: entries on this page carrying a cross-reference link, counted at build time.
  4. ⁴ Baseline: entries on this page recording an expanded form, counted at build time.

Cost and margin

The ratios that decide whether a full restaurant is also a profitable one.

Prime cost
Food and beverage cost plus total labour cost, read as a percentage of sales. It is the single number most operators steer by, because together those two lines are the largest controllable spend in a restaurant. Prime cost calculator
Food cost percentage
Cost of food sold divided by food sales, for the same period. Meaningful only when opening and closing stock are counted; without a stock take it measures purchases, not consumption. Food cost calculator
COGS — Cost of goods sold
Opening stock plus purchases minus closing stock. The formula is what turns a pile of purchase bills into the cost of what was actually consumed. COGS vs prime cost
Theoretical food cost
What the food should have cost, calculated by multiplying each dish sold by its recipe cost. The gap between theoretical and actual is the measurable size of wastage, over-portioning and theft. Food cost variance tool
Beverage cost percentage
Cost of beverage sold over beverage sales. Tracked separately from food because the pour sizes, spoilage profile and margin structure are different. Beverage cost calculator
Contribution margin
Selling price of a dish minus its variable cost, usually its recipe cost. It answers what one more sale of that dish adds to covering rent and salaries.
Labour cost percentage
Total staff cost, including statutory contributions and overtime, over sales. Wages alone understate it; the employer side of provident fund and insurance belongs in the number. Labour cost calculator
Occupancy cost
Rent plus common area maintenance, property tax and building insurance, read against sales. It is fixed in the short run, which is why it is judged at the time you sign the lease. Occupancy cost calculator
Break-even
The sales level at which contribution margin exactly covers fixed cost. Usually expressed as a daily sales target, because that is the form a manager can act on. Break-even calculator
Yield percentage
Usable weight after trimming, peeling or cooking, divided by purchased weight. A recipe cost built on purchase price rather than yielded price understates food cost. Yield calculator
Recipe cost card
A per-dish sheet listing each ingredient, its yielded quantity and its current rate. It is the unit of account behind menu pricing and theoretical food cost. Recipe cost card
Portion control
Serving the quantity the recipe card specifies, every time. Weak portion control shows up as food cost drift with no matching change in purchase rates. Portion control tool

Sales and covers

How a day of trading is counted, and the vocabulary of the daily sales report.

Cover
One guest served. Not one table and not one bill — a table of four seated together is four covers on one bill. Cover count tool
APC — Average per cover
Net sales divided by covers. Rising sales with a flat APC means more guests; rising APC with flat covers means the same guests are spending more.
RevPASH — Revenue per available seat hour
Revenue divided by seats multiplied by trading hours. It exposes the cost of dead hours in a way that a daily sales total hides. Revenue per seat calculator
Table turnover
How many times a table is reseated in a service period. Turnover and average per cover pull against each other, so most restaurants pick which one to optimise. Table turnover calculator
DSR — Daily sales report
The end-of-day summary tying sales by channel and tender to cash counted and settlements expected. It is the document the next morning depends on. Daily sales report
KOT — Kitchen order ticket
The instruction sent to the kitchen when an item is ordered. Every dish that leaves the kitchen should trace back to one.
NC KOT — Non-chargeable kitchen order ticket
A KOT raised for food that will not be billed — staff meals, tastings, owner hospitality. Left uncontrolled it becomes the quietest line of food cost leakage.
Comp
An item served and deliberately not charged, usually as service recovery. Distinct from a void, because the food was actually made and consumed. Comp and void register
Void
An item removed from a bill before settlement, typically a punching error. Voids raised after the food was fired are worth reviewing individually.
Sales mix
The share of total sales each dish or category contributes. Food cost can move purely because the mix shifted, with no change in any recipe or rate. Sales mix tool
Aggregator commission
The percentage a delivery platform retains from the order value, before taxes and other deductions. It is charged on the listed price, not on what reaches your account. Aggregator margin calculator
Aggregator payout
What the platform actually remits after commission, promotions funded by the restaurant, packaging charges, penalties and taxes. Reconciling payout to order value is a weekly job, not a monthly one. Aggregator payout reconciler
Service charge
A charge some restaurants add to the bill and distribute to staff. Consumer protection guidance in India treats it as voluntary for the guest, so it cannot be added without consent or presented as unavoidable. Service charge rules

Cash and settlement

The words used at the close, when the drawer is counted against what the system says.

Cash variance
The difference between cash the system expects and cash physically counted. Positive and negative variance both matter — a consistently over drawer is as much a control failure as a short one. Reducing cash variance
Reconciliation
Matching two independent records of the same money until the difference is explained rather than absorbed. Sales against tender, tender against bank, bank against ledger. Cash reconciliation guide
Float
The fixed opening cash left in the drawer to make change. It is counted out of the day's takings, never counted as sales.
Imprest
A petty cash system where the fund is topped back up to a fixed amount each cycle, so the reimbursement always equals the vouchers submitted. Petty cash register
PCV — Petty cash voucher
The slip authorising a small cash payment, carrying date, amount, purpose, payee and an approver signature. Without the approver line it is a note, not a control. Petty cash voucher
Denomination sheet
A count of the drawer note by note and coin by coin, rather than as a single total. Counting by denomination is what makes a recount able to find the error. Denomination tally
Drop
Cash moved out of the till into a safe mid-shift, so the drawer never holds more than a set ceiling. Each drop is recorded at the moment it happens.
Shrinkage
Stock or cash that is gone with no matching sale or documented write-off. It is a residual, so it is only as accurate as the counts on either side of it.
Settlement
The transfer of card or UPI takings from the acquirer into the restaurant's bank account, usually net of charges and a day or more after the sale. Payment reconciliation
MDR — Merchant discount rate
The fee an acquirer deducts from a card transaction. Because it is netted off before settlement, terminal totals will not match bank credits unless MDR is booked.
Chargeback
A card payment reversed after settlement on the cardholder's dispute. The money is debited back, so the original day's reconciliation has to be reopened.
Cash book
The running record of cash received and paid, carrying a closing balance forward each day. The balance it shows should equal cash on hand at any moment. Cash book
Deposit slip
The bank's acknowledgement of cash paid in. Filed against the day it belongs to, it is what closes the loop between the drawer and the bank statement. Deposit slip format

Inventory and purchasing

From raising an order to counting what is left on the shelf.

Par level
The quantity of an item you want on hand at the start of a cycle. Ordering is then the difference between par and what the count found, not a guess. Par level calculator
PO — Purchase order
The order placed on a supplier, stating item, quantity and agreed rate before delivery. It is what makes a rate dispute at the gate resolvable. Purchase order tool
GRN — Goods receipt note
The record of what physically arrived, weighed and checked at the point of delivery. Where GRN quantity differs from the invoice, the GRN is the version the books should follow. GRN tool
Indent
A request raised by a section for stock it needs, usually from a central store. Common in kitchens where purchasing is centralised away from the outlet.
Material requisition
The document moving stock from store to kitchen. It is what lets you cost a section rather than only the outlet as a whole. Material requisition
Stock take
A physical count of everything on hand at a cut-off moment. Counted while trading is stopped, or the count and the sales it is matched against will not line up. Inventory count sheet
Closing stock
The valued total of the stock take at period end, which becomes the next period's opening stock. Every consumption figure downstream depends on it.
Wastage percentage
Recorded wastage valued at cost, over food cost or sales. Only useful when wastage is logged as it happens, because a figure reconstructed at month end records memory, not waste. Wastage tracker
Spoilage
Stock discarded because it passed its usable life, as distinct from wastage in preparation or a guest return. Separating the two points to different fixes.
FIFO — First in, first out
Issuing the oldest stock first, enforced by how the shelf is arranged and dated. It is the cheapest single control on spoilage.
Dead stock
Items held with no consumption over a meaningful period. It ties up working capital and usually points at a delisted dish nobody removed from the order list.
Credit note
A supplier document reducing an earlier invoice, for a short supply, a rejection or an agreed rate correction. Unchased credit notes are a standard source of vendor ledger drift. Vendor ledger
Working capital
Current assets less current liabilities — in practice, stock plus receivables less what you owe suppliers. A restaurant can be profitable and still run out of it. Working capital calculator

People and payroll

Attendance, statutory deductions and the registers that sit behind a salary.

Muster roll
The daily attendance register kept under labour law, showing who worked, the hours, and signatures for each day. It is the record an inspector asks for first. Muster roll guide
LOP — Loss of pay
A day absent with no leave balance to cover it, so it is deducted from the month's salary. LOP days are computed from the attendance register, which is why the register has to be current.
P-day
A day marked present on the muster roll. Present days multiplied by the daily rate should reconcile to gross wages in the wage register.
OT — Overtime
Hours worked beyond the statutory daily or weekly limit, paid at a premium rate set by the applicable Act. Recorded in its own register, separate from ordinary attendance. Overtime calculator
EPF — Employees’ Provident Fund
A retirement fund built from matched contributions by the staff member and the restaurant, applicable once an establishment crosses the headcount threshold in the Act. Coverage of an individual staff member turns on a wage ceiling. EPF and ESI calculator
ESI — Employees’ State Insurance
A contributory medical and cash benefit scheme, applicable above a headcount threshold that varies by state, and covering staff earning below a wage ceiling. PF and ESI eligibility
Gratuity
A lump sum payable on exit to staff who have completed the qualifying period of continuous service, calculated from last drawn wages and years served. Gratuity calculator
TDS — Tax deducted at source
Income tax withheld by the restaurant from salaries and certain vendor payments, deposited against the recipient's account. Deduction and deposit both carry their own deadlines. TDS calculator
CTC — Cost to company
Everything the restaurant spends on a staff member in a year, including employer contributions and benefits. It is always higher than what reaches the staff member's hand. Take-home salary calculator
F&F settlement — Full and final settlement
The closing account when a staff member leaves — unpaid wages, leave encashment, gratuity if due, less recoveries and advances. F&F settlement calculator
Staff advance
Money paid to a staff member ahead of the salary it will be recovered from. Tracked as a receivable, not an expense, until it is recovered. Staff advance register
Attrition rate
Exits over the period divided by average headcount. In restaurants it is read alongside training cost, because each exit re-runs the training spend. Attrition rate calculator
Roster
The published plan of who works which shift. A roster compared against the muster roll shows where planned labour and paid labour diverged. Shift roster
Shift handover
The structured pass from one shift in charge to the next, covering cash counted, stock issues and anything unresolved. It is where accountability for the drawer transfers. Shift handover sheet
Tip pool
Tips collected centrally and shared on an agreed basis, often weighted by role and hours worked. The basis is worth writing down before it is used. Tip pool calculator

Compliance and tax

The licences, registers and returns a restaurant in India is expected to hold.

FSSAI licence — Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
The food business registration or licence every restaurant must hold, with the tier depending on turnover and scale of operation. Displayed on the premises and printed on the bill. FSSAI renewal
FoSTaC — Food Safety Training and Certification
The FSSAI training programme behind the requirement for a trained food safety supervisor on the premises. The certificate sits in the compliance file alongside the licence.
Health trade licence
A municipal licence to run a food establishment within the local body's limits, issued and renewed by the corporation rather than by a state or central authority. Restaurant licences guide
Fire NOC — Fire no objection certificate
Clearance from the fire service that the premises meet fire safety requirements. Whether it is required, and how often it is renewed, depends on the building's size and height. Fire NOC
Shops and Establishments registration
Registration under the state Act governing working hours, weekly off, leave and record-keeping. It is the law that puts most restaurants under a muster roll obligation. Shops and Establishments Act
Liquor licence
The state excise permission to serve alcohol. Alcohol is a state subject, so the licence codes, fees and conditions differ in every state. Liquor licence codes
Signage licence
Municipal permission for external boards and hoardings, priced by area and location. Commonly missed because it is granted separately from the trade licence. Signage licence
GST — Goods and Services Tax
The indirect tax on the supply of food and beverage, charged at the rate applicable to the restaurant's category. Whether input tax credit can be claimed depends on that category. GST calculator
GSTR-3B
The periodic summary GST return declaring outward supplies and tax payable. Filed on a fixed cycle whether or not there were sales in the period. GSTR-3B filing
HSN / SAC — Harmonised System Nomenclature / Services Accounting Code
The classification codes that identify what is being supplied on a tax invoice. Restaurant supply is coded as a service, which is what fixes its GST treatment.
Input tax credit
Credit for GST already paid on purchases, set against GST collected on sales. Restaurants taxed at the concessional rate generally forgo it, which changes how purchases should be costed.
Compliance calendar
A dated list of every renewal, return and filing the restaurant owes, with the lead time each needs. It is what turns compliance from a series of surprises into a schedule. Compliance calendar
Wage register
The statutory record of wages payable and paid for each period, per staff member. It is checked against the muster roll, so the two have to agree. Labour registers
Retention period
How long a record must be kept before it can be destroyed. Where several laws reach the same document, the longest applicable period is the one to follow.

Definitions are the easy half

Most of these terms describe something that has to be counted on a particular day by a particular person. Knowing what closing stock means is not the same as having counted it before the shutter came down.

Restaurant Daily is where that counting lands — cash reconciled at close, attendance captured at the shift, expenses logged against the day they belong to, so the ratios on this page are computed from records rather than estimated from memory.

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